Bite Sized!
by Stinkysardines
Summary: A little GW2 story about the daily lives and struggles of the S.A.S.S. Krewe. All OC characters. Blasphemy, I know, but that's just they way I roll. Constructive criticism is always welcome, no matter how harsh. If a certain individual is reading this, I totally didn't post this just because you asked. B-baka!
1. The New Recruit pt1

Bite-Sized Chapter 1: The New Recruit

PART 1

*Clank... clank... clank...* the darkened laboratory room was suddenly awash with light, as a large metal door at one end slowly rose into the air, before stopping, suspended, half a dozen feet in the air. From the blinding beam emerged the solitary figure of a single Asura. *click-click BANG!* The door smashed down behind it, at once dunking the lab into darkness. The figure however, seemed unfazed by the whole event, turning to the wall left of the door, and slowly groping along the wall in search of something. A moment later, the click of a switch could be heard. Glowing gems, placed at set intervals across the floor, buzzed to life, and a blue-green jolt of energy blazed across the chiseled stone tiles, seeming to jump from one crystal to the next. On the left wall, a set of heavy metal blinds clicked slowly upward, revealing a massive reinforced glass window. The room was once again splashed with light and warmth.

The Asuran laboratory, now properly lit, was a messy affair. It consisted of a single, large room, in its center was an enormous lab table, strewn with all manner of technological nonsense. It was surrounded by a set of unpowered hover chairs placed upon crates and fastened by what looked like magically infused duct tape. Stretching across the left side of the room, just below the window, was a wall-to-wall counter. Like the main table, it was adorned with grime and temporarily abandoned baubles. Just above the window was a small analog clock, made up of a strange assortment of leftover gears and rods. On the wall furthest from the door, were a pair of storage cabinets, the one on the right was locked tightly with a pair of magi-tech locks. Its partner however, remained unlocked and ajar, a number of packed tool boxes and measuring equipment could be seen within. The right side of the room remained relatively clean, across the surface of the wall floated a number of schematics detailing construction and assemblage of various golem parts.

The window also shown its light upon the room's newest addition, an abnormally large, leather clad Asura. She was almost as tall as a short human woman, but thrice as large around. Her enormous head, trademark of the Asura, looked as though it could easily snap from her skinny neck at any moment. With slow, heavy steps, she plodded across the room, before flopping down on the nearest of the defunct hover chairs. Now comfortable on her throne, the Asura brushed the messy orange hair away from her face and surveyed the room with heavy lidded, dark green eyes.

"Tink, you in here?" came her loud but calm voice, momentarily interrupting the euphonic silence of the morning.

There was no response and the Asura sighed to herself contentedly.

"A little nap before work never hurt anyone," she reasoned with the air, as she leaned back in her chair, and her eyes slid closed. She had to hand it to him, moving the lab out to Metrica Province had been an excellent decision. Sure, it was an absolute pain, carrying tools and supplies all the way from the not-so-nearby Soren Draa, but the old lab in Rata Sumhad been noisy, dim, and cramped, not to mention full to the brim with nosy Asura 'geniuses', poking their noses into other peoples work. Out here however, the sun could bathe her in its warmth as she slept in peace...

*Clank… clank… clank… BAM!* Well, maybe not in peace. It was still nicer though.

The Asura slowly sat up in her seat and turned to face the newcomer. At the door stood another Asura. He wore a dirty grey-white lab coat, and an old pair of leather goggles adorned his forehead, just below his cropped brown hair. His relaxed smile wore the pride of a greatly accomplished genius, despite his rather mussy and destitute outfit. Sky blue eyes shown with barely muted passion, and he walked with a prideful jaunt to his step.

"There you are, Tink. I was wondering when you were gonna show your slow face." she murmured, lazily wiping her eyes with a leather gauntlet.

"Excelsior, Qaxu," the other Asura replied, seemingly undeterred by his cohort's overtly relaxed demeanor. "You're certainly early this morning. An implausible, if rather pleasing change of pace, I might add".

"Actually," Qaxu replied with a light chuckle, "I'm late. You're just later."

"Ah!" he yelped in surprise, all of his former composure disappearing in an instant, "I suppose I must have lost track of time during this morning's... hey! I'm not late!" his eyes had focused upon the makeshift clock above the window. "Unless... this awful piece of junk broke again! I knew I shouldn't have substituted a retrograde plasmatic nova-ticker for a proper one," he pouted.

The larger Asura, who had broken out into a fit of laughter at her krewemates's outburst, had now begun to calm down, "Cool your nano-jets, Tink, your reeter nova thingee is fine. I was just joking."

"And I really wish you would cease referring to me by such an absurd nickname… I am acting krewe leader after all! If you absolutely refuse to address me with title, it would surely do you no harm to at least refer to me properly. You know, _by name_ ," the coated Asura continued to pout, but a slight smile was creeping across his face, and his eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Oh, please forgive me Sir Zann, Chief, Lord and Commander, Acting Krewe Leader of the S.A.S.S. Krewe! I beg your forgiveness for the bruising of your gigantic ego," Qaxu replied, waving her hands about her in exaggerated movements, before bowing deeply, albeit awkwardly, as her posterior was still firmly planted in her chair.

"Well… I suppose it's only fair that she understands just what kind of mess she's getting into," Zann sighed aloud.

As he spoke, the door opened yet again and a younger Asura, barely older then a progeny walked proudly through, as though summoned by his mention of her. She was small for her age, though her ears were surprisingly large and wide, almost elephantine. She wore a dignified smile upon her face, and strode pridefully, despite her young age. However, upon seeing the state of the laboratory, she recoiled slightly, her face filled with disgust.

"How can you consider this horrid mess your workspace?" she asked demandingly of Zann, her neck stuck out like a turkey, her arms barred straight at her sides, "and it is extraordinarily rude of you to force me to wait while you are making insipid jokes, is it not?" When he did not immediately respond, she returned to her inspection of the room.

"Well... err, I mean, of course that would be the correct thing to do… I really am sorry for not introducing you sooner; I just wanted to ensure that everything was in order and..." the stunned mechanic began to mutter in response, but was cut off as the newly arrived Asura began again on her judgment of the laboratory.

"This place is an utter disaster! Everything is utterly disorganized and..." she raised her rat-like nose to the air and sniffed loudly, "what absurd source is causing that smell of moldy cheese and eggs?"

"That'd be my sandwich," Qaxu laughed aloud jumping down from her post atop the chair, "I was wondering what happened to that old thing!"

The newcomer stared at her aghast, with mouth agape. Seemingly unable to even bear looking at the perpetrator any longer, she turned her accusing glare towards the still flustered Zann. His face, already a light grey, had become almost white with paleness. He seemed about to begin with another round of blithering apologies when Qaxu cut in on his behalf.

"Sorry 'bout that, seems we got off on the wrong foot, I'm Qaxu, good to make your acquaintance Shortstack!" The large Asura was bent down to the height of the complainer with one hand extended forward in greeting.

The other Asura jumped slightly, surprised at the sudden appearance of the relative giant who had appeared beside her, but quickly regained her composure. "You may call me Uummi," she replied, ignoring Qaxu's offered handshake completely, and sliding past her towards the far end of the lab. The shunted Qaxu shot a questioning glance towards Zann, who had recovered enough to shrug bemusedly back at her.

Behind them, Uummi let out another frustrated cry, "This technology is ancient! Who uses a Wind-rider Novac anymore? Were you really planning to put this in your golem?"

"Now really," it was Zann's turn to provide a rebuttal, "there's nothing wrong with the classics! Besides, I wouldn't have the position of head engineer if I couldn't overcharge a W.R.N.," his chest puffed slightly with pride, "not that it will make a speck of difference once Kej has finished securing us a new source of funding."

"I think you mean the _only_ engineer," Qaxu chuckled under her breath.

"Speaking of the boss," she turned to Zann again, "shouldn't she have come back by now? And... do you think she'll even be able to get _him_ to fund us?" she shifted uncomfortably, reaching one large grey hand up to scratch her head.

"Of course she will," Zann responded resolutely, a proud smile upon his face, "you know as well as I how convincing she can be."

Qaxu had distractedly picked up one of the baubles off the main table, as round metallic ball, and was tossing it in from one hand to the other. "Heh. You're right, of course," a wry smile returning to her face. She turned slowly away from him, to continue watching the rampaging miniature on the far side of the room, "you always are..."

"Ah! Sorry to do this to you so suddenly after your arrival," Zann suddenly called out from beside her, "but unfortunately, I have to leave on an important errand, it is of vital importance that I complete it immediately. I'll return shortly and then we can return to your... orientation into the krewe."

As he turned to leave, a gloved hand met his shoulder, holding it firmly. "Tink, stay here and show her around, I'll go get whatever it is you need." Casting her eyes to the floor she muttered quietly, "it's all I do these days anyway."

"Then, perhaps overseeing our new recruit will be a welcome change of pace," he shrugged sheepishly, slowly lifting the paw from his shoulder, and pressing it between his own grey hands reassuringly, "this won't take but a moment, and besides, she's just a child. Surely Qaxu, you of all people aren't _afraid_ of a little progeny?"

"Of course not!" Qaxu puffed out her chest and stood at full height, a full head and a half over her companion. "Take your time and don't worry about a thing!"

"Excellent!" Zann chuckled over his shoulder, already strolling to the open door. "The algorithm for success will not accept mismatched variables, Qaxu." he added, in a tone that would imply his statement nothing more than an afterthought, "I really do need the two of you to get along."

Sighing to herself, the larger Asura turned her back to him as well, rubbing her tired eyes. Where had her peaceful morning suddenly gone? At least she wouldn't have to break her back dragging heavy boxes halfway across Metrica Province today, she supposed. However, as Qaxu removed the hand from her eyes and surveyed the lab now that their new friend had gotten her hands on it, her jaw dropped. Like a whirlwind she seemed to have blown through the room, papers were scattered everywhere and parts and pieces lay discarded all over the counter, despite complaining about the mess just moments before. From behind Qaxu came the slamming of the laboratory door; no backing out now.

"Hey Shortstack! Try to keep that stuff cleaned up, okay? I'm gonna be the one having to pick it all up later," she called to the little Asura jokingly.

The other Asura seemed to ignore her however, and continued to dig through the parts on the table at an accelerated rate. Stepping closer however, Qaxu could see a mischievous little smile had appeared upon the other's face. Tools were now being tossed aside at random and with reckless abandon.

"C'mon Shorty, that's not funny." she tried again, this time a bit more forcibly, her throat rumbling ever so slightly with dangerous frustration.

This time, Uummi did pause, but only for a second. Locking eyes with Qaxu she hissed, "Don't. Call. Me. Shorty!" and with that, returned to the production of her ever growing mess heap.

"F-fine then..." Qaxu stuttered, off-put by the ferocity of the little Asura's reprise.

"How's Mini sound? Bug-eyes?" she added jokingly after a moment.

Her teasing was met with a guttural growls which sounded more like they had come from Jungle Stalker then an Asura, and Qaxu sighed once more, resigning herself back to the formerly vacated chair. To deal with this brat, she was going to need to preserve her energy, it seemed.

For a time, she simply observed, ignoring the little Asura's ridiculous commentary on the state of the room. It was even a little amusing, a strange little child coming in seemingly with plans to retrofit the whole place all by herself. If she didn't destroy it first. She was clearly quite intelligent, judging by her smug, accomplished arrogance and knowledge about technological parts. Why a youth with such potential would ever take an interest in such a minor krewe baffled Qaxu. Her attention was suddenly jerked from its ponderings, however, as Uummi had set her sights upon the main lab table, upon which lay the remnants of the previous day's work: the shell of a Mini B-Series Golem. Its steel frame was covered in scratches and it was missing both arms and legs. A number of internal instruments and parts lay strewn about it. Qaxu's eyes warily trailed the little one, though her body did not move from its reclining position.

Stopping upon something, Uummi's mouth twisted into a tight scowl. As she lifted into the air to read the inscription upon its side, Qaxu also caught a better look at it: the main Alpha Drive, a particularly expensive and important piece of their golem.

"Hey! Be careful with that, it's-"

"A Hyper Talum Alpha Drive! What scrap heap was this ancient piece of junk pulled from?" the little Asura proclaimed with mocking triumph.

"Put it down. Now." Qaxu's frustration and concern was written across her face.

"Whose ingenious plan was it to use this?" Uummi snickered, seemingly ignorant of the larger Asura slowly marching towards her, "It would be entirely impossible for simpletons like you to run an AI made in the last year on it... Geh?!"

With surprising agility, Qaxu had closed the gap between the two in an instant, and now firmly gripped Uummi's wrist in one gloved mitt. With the other, she plucked the delicate device from the miniature Asura's now limp hand, and placed it delicately upon the table.

"That's enough, kid," Qaxu glared down at her new krewemate, all signs of former joviality had disappeared from her face, "Now, we're going to clean this mess up before Zann gets back. Keep acting like this, and I'll personally make sure you're off this krewe by tomorrow."

For a split-second Uummi paused, as though seriously considering her options. But it was quickly replaced with a nonchalant shrug as her smirking grin reappeared.

"It's not my fault you worthless krewe can't even afford a half-decent Alpha drive!" she hissed at Qaxu, "And, I don't want anything to do with a moronic brute like you or that driveling idiot anyway!" her eyes had squinted like slits and they glinted with embarrassed anger. "So, let go of me, you big, dumb, bookah bully!"

With that the little Asura gathered saliva in her mouth and spit, aiming it for the larger figure's face. But the foamy ball did not fly, instead dripping awkwardly down her own chin.

In response, Qaxu's grip tightened like a vice on the little Asura's arm, and she yanked it up into the air, so that the dangling Uummi's face was only inches from her own furrowed brow.

"What was that, brat?!" Qaxu's patience had long since reached its limit, "You're like a spoiled little Bookah princess! You come in here acting like you own the place, trash everything I work so hard to keep clean, insult my friend- your boss, and then have the gall to be spit at me?"

Uummi hung limply by her restrained arm like a rag doll, mouth stretched thinly into a bitter frown. Her eyes remained locked with Qaxu's, and they glowed with undisguised disgust.

"Heh! Asura are all the same!" Qaxu had begun to roar with all the might and savagery of a bear. "Every single one thinks they're a genius and everyone else is their footstool. Worst of all are the spoiled little brats like you, who believe someone less talented then you is garbage to be thrown around and abused! Well listen up you little punk; sometimes that trash you thought to throw away turns out far more valuable then you ever will be! Enjoy finding a job somewhere else!" she finished spitefully, dropping the little Asura with a sudden motion and turning away from her to face the window. Sunlight still streaming through it, but the warmth and comfort it had once brought was no longer present.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Uummi, still sat where she had been dropped, awkwardly wiping the spit from her chin with one sleeve, pausing hesitantly, then reaching further up to wipe her eyes. Her outburst complete, Qaxu could feel the adrenaline quickly fading, to be replaced with an awkward sense of guilt. Subconsciously, she shifted one foot towards the crumpled figure behind her, but her pride quickly forced the offending foot to a standstill. But still, it couldn't be right just to leave her like that...

Qaxu swallowed hard, and took a slow, deep breath, "Look, Shor-erm, I mean, Uummi, just forget what I said." her words were awkward and forced.

The quivering ball behind her did not respond or show any sign of comprehension. Qaxu felt a familiar frustration rushing up to meet her, but she pushed it back.

"You're smart. That's all that matters here. There will be more chances for you," Qaxu could feel her throat clenching with every word.

"To have passed through one of the colleges at your age… another krewe will pick you up in no time." with every word, Qaxu's demeanor grew darker still and her voice rang out with bitterness. "You won't end up as a futureless lab assistant."

"I didn..." muttered the ball on the floor.

"Hmm? Did you say something? You'll have to be louder than that," Qaxu forced a humorless chuckle, half turning to face her.

"I said I DIDN'T!" Uummi suddenly surged to her feet, screeching as loudly as her little lungs would allow, "I didn't graduate from Dynamics! I didn't graduate at all! I wasn't even accepted in!"

Qaxu stared blankly back, completely caught out by Uummi's unexpected response.

"And you… you're no different either! You're just another big bully! I… I…" Uummi continued, but her words were lost on the shocked figure before her.

Qaxu could only see the glinting of tears forming in the young Asura's eyes. A newfound sense of guilt hit her even harder than the first. This ridiculous, elitist brat hadn't been accepted into even one of the Asuran Colleges? How could that even be possible? Surely she was smart enough for it… but then again, she surely wouldn't be here if she had been accepted. If that brat really had failed to earn the interest of one of the colleges, then…

Qaxu ears barely registered the patter of Uummi's padded shoes as the girl fled the room. Her tingling face could only just feel the sudden burst of warm jungle air rushing into the sealed vacuum of the lab. As she dazedly turned toward the echo of the metal door slamming down again, a single thought permeated Qaxu's conscious and refused to be dislodged; it floated before her as though etched into her very sight itself. After every bitter insult she had received, after every cruel reprise she had returned, after so much irrevocable damage had been dealt, she couldn't help but wonder:

Were they really so different after all?


	2. The New Recruit pt2

Part 2

The bright sun shown overhead in a smear of pastel blue sky; not a single cloud was in sight and the lively shouts of panicked Asura filled the air, mingling with the crunching and slamming of a malfunctioning golem smashing through the cobbled streets. But all of this was lost to Uummi, who wandered sullenly through the mossy back alleys, still rubbing her swollen red eyes. Wearily she sunk into one of the walls, before slumping down to land on the ground. Her tunic caught briefly, then begun to slide smoothly along the carved stone, softly plopping the youth into the loamy dirt below.

A torrent of regrets and curses poured through the little Asura's head. That very morning she had been filled with excitement, her first step into the real world! Failing to qualify for one of the colleges would be of no consequence, she had convinced herself; she would simply began her journey before the others. In time she would surely prove herself equal to the rest, if not vastly superior. She had repeated those thoughts every night, she had forcefully pushed all doubt from her mind. And yet, here she was, all alone, rejected by even the dregs of Asura society. She would never be like her genius father. She would never prove to her mother just what brilliant feats she was capable of. After her last failure, she had barely been able to scrape together the will to continue and even then, when she finally had, she was only met with even greater embarrassment and defeat.

All because of her. That big, dumb, ugly brute! If she hadn't been there getting in the way, everything would have turned out fine. Uummi would be in the lab still and not out here, all alone.

"I HATE HER! I HATE HER! I HATE HER!" the little Asura roared to the sky, ragged words ripping themselves violently from her throat.

All of the prissy formality was gone from Uummi's voice. In its place was wild unrestrained rage. She cursed the emotionless blue that floated indifferently above. Time after time, her hard work was undone by bumbling fools and incompetent associates! Truly, it seemed as though everyone around her was completely incapable and she was the victim of it all. She had tried so hard to prove that she could be a brilliant genius. To show the world what she was capable of. It just wasn't fair!

"But the only constant in all of those situations was _you_ ," whispered a voice in the back of her head, " _You're_ the _only_ incompetent one here. _You're_ the one who's dragging everyone down."

That couldn't be true, could it? It was wrong, she would find a way to succeed… somehow. Uummi sought desperately to build a defense against the voice in her head.

"Of course it's true! Time to face the _facts_ ; _you'll never be anything_." it cackled at her acknowledgement. "You're no genius! You'll _never_ be like your father, so stop trying to _act_ like him!"

But, she'd worked so hard to achieve something great like he had. To surpass what he had done, to prove to her mother that she could do it. Yet, every time she was offered another chance, she would find a way to ruin it again. Maybe the voice was right. Maybe she would never rise to her own greatness. What was the point? Why didn't she…

" _Just give up now_ ," the voice was coaxing, "No more disappointment, no more embarrassment. It's so easy! Or do you want to go through _that_ again?"

No… the voice was right; she couldn't bear that kind of failure again. Slowly, painfully, Uummi's thoughts trailed back to her assessment with the College of Dynamics. It was her first real solo invention, a scrappy and ramshackle golem. She had made it out of fixed-up throwaways and spare parts. She had worked tirelessly to coax the pieces together, struggling day and night, and her mother, a lab assistant of no particular repute, had put herself through enormous strain to provide her daughter with the parts and gold required for the project. With willpower her only abundant resource, the project seemed doomed to failure, but somehow, some way, the golem had come together, a functioning whole.

Endlessly, she had proudly paraded before an imaginary Dynamics Recruitment Council, presenting her amazing machine. She had even begun to program the golem to dance, to surprising success. Though it was basic and buggy, any additional features could only be a positive, right? She continued to modify and perfect the program until the golem had a whole routine of dance moves to show off. With its completion, Uummi felt assured she had secured her place in the college.

Then came the day of presentation. Councilor Phlox was presiding, dressed in a flowing green robe symbolic of the College of Dynamics. It was beautifully embroidered with a fringe of glowing neon triangles. With him were two other faculty members whose names Uummi had never been granted. One, dressed in pink and violet from head to toe, smiled pleasantly at the nervous youth. The other scowled deeply as her makeshift golem trundled into sight.

Things had begun smoothly enough, as the little Asura twisted the remote, the hunk of metal whirred to life before her and danced smoothly for the audience:

"Impressive bio-synth connection for one so young!"

"Astounding, to think that such a horrendous looking design was capable of such vitality."

Quickly she found herself working to perform more and more impressive tricks to impress her proctors; from the corner of her eye, she caught the violet one prodding her grouchy neighbor playfully so that even he began to crack a rueful smile. At this rate she was in - no fuss, no muss. Life was finally starting to turn up for her and her mother. And what's more, it was all thanks to her! Her whole life had been leading up to this moment, all the hard work had been justified, just for once, everything was going right!

And then, everything went wrong.

It started as a minor twitch in the golem's left arm. Uummi pressed the analog a little harder in an attempt to keep the uncooperative appendage in line, and it worked for a brief time. But the twitch quickly became a violent shake, the arm spinning wildly, uncontrollably, faster and faster until finally, it just… stopped. The entire arm dropped to the golem's side and refused to budge; it was quickly joined by the left leg. The other half of the golem continued its subroutine however, causing the entire thing to collapse into a heap in front of the confused and horrified Uummi. She twisted the controls, desperately trying to pull her prototype back into presentable form, but the mesh of ruined metal and flux dust before her refused to cooperate. Timidly, the little Asura peeked up to see the reactions of her proctors. Phlox had already begun to march towards the exit, his sour faced companion not far behind. The purple proctor was frowning slightly, and she quickly scribbled something upon her notepad, but she quickly moved to join the other two. Uummi knew what was next: the verdict of failure, the tired look of resignation on her mother's face. She couldn't bear the thought, and swiftly bolted for the door, cutting off the three startled Asura in the process. She didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything she could have been, everything she _should_ have been; the future she had expended so much for vanished from sight as she stumbled into the twisting grey hallway and dashed for the academy's main entrance.

The world around the running Uummi blurred and faded to be replaced by the grimy stone wall on the other side of the alleyway. Fresh tears streamed down her face and she sighed bitterly. No matter how hard she worked, no matter how big she acted it, never seemed to be enough. The little Asura lifted her knees to her chest and wrapped them with both arms, curling into a tight ball of matted browns and greys. Wringing her forearms tightly with both hands, sobbed into the safety of the comforting little pocket of air between her legs and body. She supposed it would always be this way. Every time she started to gain faith in herself, something would go wrong, someone would bar her way. Someone would grab her, kicking and screaming and throw her to the ground. Someone would shout her down and shame her and send her crying and running away again. Someone would ruin her very last chance to pull herself up from the mud.

"I hate her…" came a tiny, timid voice, antipode to the prideful, powerful rage she had displayed but moments before.

Minutes passed; then hours. Uummi's hands unlatched and her body slowly uncurled, legs falling limply to the ground, arms dangling by her sides. Like a ragdoll, she lay slumped against the wall, tears still streaming from her misty lime-green eyes. Her face was unnaturally pale and her short brown hair was matted and frazzled. If not for a slight shiver that continued to run through her body, she might have been mistaken for an abandoned test dummy. Uummi's whole body felt heavy, as though rooted in place where they had fallen. Slowly her tired eyelids drew closed over bloodshot eyes, and her exhausted mind began to drift away.

"So this is what the brilliant Uummi has been up to, hmm?" Like a freshly whetted knife, a sarcastic voice cut through the Uummi's uneasy repose.

The young Asura did not react immediately. Her eyelids felt too heavy to lift, and her whole body ached, though she could not recall why. Her nose began to twitch and sniffle in the cold air. Ah, that was it. She was sick in bed; that was why she felt so bad. Shivering, she reached over to pull her thin blankets closer, but grasped only air. Tiredly, she winked one eye open to search for the missing coverings, but was instead met with a stony grey wall, now tinted a forlorn blue by the night sky. Suddenly all the day's events flashed through her mind like a thundering train. Instinctively she clutched her head with both hands. But even still, something didn't make sense…

"Oh? Is the brilliant Uummi too good to acknowledge me now?" the voice came again, this time even more aggressive then the last.

Uummi sighed internally, this day really couldn't get any worse.

"Leave me alone, Morr…" she finally replied, shifting her slumped body to face her antagonist. She spoke plainly, too exhausted to continue her previous embellishments.

He was a young Asura, about the same age as Uummi. His skin was a light tannish-brown and he wore a grey tunic accented with deep sanguine red. Upon his chest glowed the bright red emblem of the College of Statics. He was short and stocky even for an Asura, so that he was barely a head and a half taller than Uummi, even as she remained sitting upon the ground.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Morr continued, only emboldened by her response, "Did baby's regulator break?"

This time, Uummi did not respond to the taunting. "I said, leave me alone, Morr," she muttered almost indifferently. She could feel her forehead throbbing and her muscles hurt. After everything that had happened, what were a few harsh words? She probably deserved them considering all of her failures anyway.

"Heh. Please, I'll be going in a moment," Morr huffed, a smarmy smile spreading across his face, "I just thought you would be interested in knowing how brilliantly my studies at the College of Statics have been progressing…"

Uummi's ears twitched involuntarily, her eyes flicked quickly toward the other Asura, then back to the ground.

"I thought that might catch your interest!" Morr snickered, stepping closer to the still impassive Uummi. "Though it doesn't require a genius like me to figure out what makes a simple mind like yours ti-guh!"

With surprising quickness, Uummi had deftly lifted herself from the ground and charged headfirst into Morr's stomach, sending him sprawling into the dirt.

Uummi's headache had increased twofold from the blow, but even that couldn't stop a wan smile from stretching across her face.

Morr however, was not nearly as impressed. Heaving himself back unto his feet, he chuckled with frustrated arrogance, "Heh! I should have figured an incompetent imbecile like you would resort to violence."

"I'm a better engineer then you'll ever be!" Uummi charged her former classmate with a vengeful, desperate might comparable to that of a battering ram.

"Preposterous," Morr chuckled, prepared this time, he sidestepped her easily. "It's far past time you learned to face the facts, Uummi. Your destined place in the Eternal Alchemy is in the mud!"

"Not that there's any other place for an idiot who honestly tries to program advanced AI techniques onto a Hyper Talum Alpha Drive! What a laugh! I heard the Dynamics proctors were collapsed in a pile laughing at your golem; I'd be surprised if any krewe would ever be willing to take you on after that!"

Uummi stood stock still, frozen in place as though Morr's words had been made of ice, not sound. When she finally spoke, her voice was weak and wavering "How did…"

"How did I find out? Why, it was easier than constructing a prototype holorod! Those old coots in charge of the Dynamics database were falling over themselves tell me, everyone wants help an up and coming geni"-THWACK.

Uummi had picked a rather large discarded gear off the ground and, with a well-aimed throw, planted it squarely in the middle of Morr's face while he had been busy monologueing.

"Annoying little fly!" Morr roared, rubbing his reddening face. He pulled a concealed magitech knife from beneath his tunic, "I'm going to end your pathetic existence right here!" This time it was Morr's turn to charge.

Uummi however, made no move to avoid the attack. Still paralyzed with shock, she stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly forward, no longer seeing the figure before her. If he had found out so easily, anyone else could too, she would be a laughingstock for the rest of her life. It was certain; it was inevitable. It was the hammer and nail pounding shut her coffin. Whatever happened here didn't matter, because her life was over either way. She shut her eyes tiredly, clenching her fists in readiness for the blow.

*CLANG*

The sound of metal biting metal rang throughout the alleys of Soren Draa. Morr stared in horror at the ghostly blue sword which had materialized before his own. The blade's owner however, seemed to barely acknowledge his existence, instead her attention was focused entirely on the pale, blank faced, shivering form behind her.

"Finally found ya, you spoiled little princess," she muttered, sighing with frustrated exhaustion. Still, the relieved smile across her face betrayed her immense relief.

Turning towards Morr for the first time, her smile turned wry. Her voice was calm, but betrayed an intense malice hidden beneath, "Brat, you're about to find out what happens to insects who try to hurt my krewemates."


	3. The New Recruit pt3

Part 3

On one side stood the still terrified Morr, staring in shock at the large stony faced apparition which had appeared before him; on the other stood a weary and confused Uummi, equally as shocked. The Asura standing between them wore a calm, neutral expression. In one hand she held a ghostly transparent blue blade; a Guardian spirit weapon known as the Sword of Justice. It flickered briefly, tendrils of spirit magic wrapping angrily around its owner's hand, like a candle licking at an intruding finger, but if the magic hurt, she did not reveal it. Her thick leather tunic and bedraggled orange hair glowed with a similar sickly blue glow, as though her whole body was infused with this same power.

"W-what do you want? Can you not see you're intruding on important negotiations?!" Morr finally managed to squeak, backpedaling away from the newcomer.

The figure did not speak, but instead slowly lifted its blade in response, raising it to a point inches from Morr's throat. Dark green eyes slowly surveyed the quaking Asura, halting upon the Dynamics emblem upon his chest.

"What do you want?!" Morr repeated, noting the newcomer's gaze upon the marking, "Whatever it is, I'm sure my College can see to it that you are properly-"

" _I want_ you to scram." the figure spoke suddenly, her voice was as calm but its taut forcedness betrayed the rage suppressed beneath, "I have no interest in you, brat." With that, she lowered her weapon and began to turn toward the still shaking Asura girl behind her.

But if there was one thing Morr was not going to accept, it was being completely ignored. His over-burgeoning Asura pride would not let him.

"GRAAAAGH!" he roared; spittle flying from his mouth, he charged forward with the magitech knife, towards the figures' now exposed back.

But despite the minute distance between them, the newcomer easily sidestepped the attack, and the inertia of Morr's charge sent him tumbling face first into a nearby lab wall, earning a wry smile from his foe.

"Alright brat, if that's the way you want it…" the Guardian calmly lifted her blade to rest it upon her shoulder. She looked calm and at ease, but as their eyes locked for a moment, Morr shuddered involuntarily. In her glare was the same ice-cold, sneering callousness that a senior member of the College of Synergetics might wear upon engaging an upstart progeny in a contest of polytechnic theory.

Rising to his feet with surprising speed for one of his stubby stature, Morr charged a second time towards his opponent with much the same results as the first attempt.

Compared to the imp before her, the Guardian was a towering mountain, and yet she completely outmaneuvered her opponent as well. Catlike, she slid out of his way mere moments before his blade made impact. She made no attacks of her own, calmly, almost tiredly, observing Morr and moving only when necessary to avoid his increasingly ragged charges.

And Morr, increasingly unsure of what to do against the unresponsive figure grew increasingly desperate and wild with his assault, spending more and more time inside of the danger zone within his foe's range, attempting to pierce or find a weakness in the magically reinforced leather. Finally, he leapt into the air in attempt to stab or claw at her face, but found himself stopped midair.

Slowly, he registered a dull pain in his gut which radiated outwards across his whole torso. He stared down in horror to find the glowing blue hilt of the sword planted firmly in his stomach, suspending him in midair. A short way down the blade, the Guardian held the sword firm with both gloved hands.

With a gulp, Morr felt the hilt release itself and for a very brief moment, he could feel himself falling towards the earth again. Then the hilt met him again with infinitely increased force, sending him flying upwards and down the alleyway towards the entrance. The ensuing confrontation with the ground was even more uncomfortable for the young Asura than all of the day's previous dirt-eating incidents combined.

Morr grunted in shock and scrambled embarrassedly to his feet once more, dashing off in the other direction while simultaneously cursing and threatening his opponent. She, however, had already lost interest in him.

The air buzzed lightly as blue magic separated itself from its owner to mix and mingle with the air, dissipating momentarily. The ghostly sword flashed for a moment of brilliant sky blue before it too dissipated in a haze. Qaxu sighed to herself mentally; that was one battle down, but nothing compared to what she still had to face.

"How was that, kid? Not too bad, huh?" Qaxu chuckled proudly, but Uummi was still too mad at her to respond.

Or… so she had thought. When she turned back to the spot where the girl had been standing, she found nothing but damp dirt and mussed grass. While the Guardian had been engaged in her battle with Morr, the little Asura girl had snuck on out the alleyway's other entrance. Qaxu had been too absorbed with the fight to notice, it seemed. She had been so close too! Her face boiled with embarrassment as frustration rose in her throat. She had finally found the girl and then lost her again before she could apologize, all because she had gotten distracted with another stupid brat!

She ran a gloved fist into the worn stone wall with enough force to make an audible crack. The electrifying pain shot through her hand and up her arm, momentarily distracting her, but it grew quickly grew into a numb throb as the source of her anger forced its way pack into the prime of her thoughts.

Hah! What had she been thinking? Win over one brat by beating up another one. What a brilliant idea! If she had submitted that thesis as a progeny, she would have been a shoe-in recruit for the College of Synergetics! What a complete disaster.

After a few more self-derogatory comments, Qaxu finally paused to collect herself. Breathing in deeply, she tightly closed her tired eyes, rubbing them thoroughly with her good hand. There was no use in getting caught up in past mistakes. What was done was done. What she needed to do now was figure out her next move. She could chase after the girl again, praying for better results this time, or hang her head, turn around and report the day's incidents to Zann.

Neither option was particularly appealing. The hot Maguuman sun was still beating down over head and her… 'duel' with Morr hadn't exactly helped to cool her off either. The idea of drudging through the dusty and chaotic streets of Soren Draa for another hour to find the girl again was far from pleasing. The thought that Uummi might head for the gate to Metrica Province danced in the back of her head as well. If she escaped out to Metrica, Qaxu wouldn't have a snowball's chance in Mount Maelstrom of finding her. However, considering that she had not already done so, the girl probably couldn't pay the rather expensive fee, or so Qaxu hoped.

Forcing a grimly determined smile to her lips, the Guardian trudged towards the parades of assistants and adventurers hurrying on past the alleyway's entrance. As she grew closer, she could feel the day's heat on her skin again; the summer air shimmered and wavered, but her resolve did not. She wiped the perspiration from her bulbous forehead. This time she would do it right.

But as Qaxu approached the mouth of the alleyway, the scene became even more chaotic. At the far end of the street something exploded loudly followed by equally loud screaming. The passing Asura murmured and shifted restlessly.

"The Inquest will not forget this travesty!" an Asura in a red and black field-uniform suddenly came dodging through the loosely packed crowds, spittle flying from her mouth as she fired threat after threat behind her. A couple of her goons quickly followed.

"You irreputable imbeciles will be the only things forgotten by the time I'm done with you!" The crowds split with the crackle of firecrackers as a very angry looking Incinergen krewemember, an industrial flamethrower strapped to his back, charged through the gap in hot pursuit.

The whole street went wild as some struggled through the panicked masses to see what was happening, and others attempted dive for cover. A couple of intrepid young adventurers dropped the Ooze-Boozes they had been drinking and begin pushing their way through the crowd towards the runaways. The noise of the shouting and shoving was cut short by yet another explosion, this one in the direction the Inquest members had run.

Well, this was a setback.

"Geh!" Qaxu spat with frustration. Everyone and everything that could possibly get in her way was making a conspicuous effort to do so today. She was having enough problems as it was without having to deal with a crowd of gawking chickens blocking her way. With a sudden impulse, she inhaled deeply, letting her sizable lungs fill to the brim with dry summer air.

"MOVE YER ASSES OUTTA MY WAY DAMNIT! I GOT SOMEONE TO FIND!"

A few jumpy (and particularly close) passersby jumped and attempted to scoot through the crowds to escape her wrath, but most ignored the sudden outburst.

Qaxu likewise payed no attention to the noisy masses before her, continuing to shout in no direction in particular, "Do you hear me kid?! I'm gonna apologize even if it kills me!"

The entire scene was chaos, everyone was pushing and shouting as loudly as the possibly could.

"I'm sorry! I'm so freaking sorry! I thought we were nothing alike, but I'm really just the same as you!" with each word, the girl's voice grew tighter, and quieter.

The rest of the scene however, was growing wilder and wilder, another group of enraged Incinergen members were forcing their way through the crowd, flaming weapons and experiments in hand.

"It's not you! I'm just a big failure, screwing things up like always! Getting angry when things don't go my way, and lashing out at others like you who don't deserve it, I…" her tired voice finally began trail off completely.

Yet another explosion. One unfortunate Inquest lackey could be seen flying a few feet through the air, only to be caught with an earsplitting *CRACK* by the closest residing stone wall. A particularly frightened Arcane Councilor could be heard calling for his mommy. The crowd had somehow managed to make itself even more unnavigable.

"Oh, give me a break, damnit!" Qaxu cursed allowed once she had gathered her breath and her wits.

"O-okay, but only b-because you're so insistent," came a tiny, cracked voice in response.

Qaxu spun around in amazement as a bedraggled, but timidly smiling Uummi pressed flat against the wall intersecting that of the alleyway.

"Huh?" was all the stunned Guardian could manage to eke out in response, but her stunned expression quickly turned to frustrated embarrassment, "Wait… then you were here all along, and you... heard all that, didn't you…"

"I, uh, yes… but don't be upset," the girl before her began again, struggling to keep her composure, her voice was still raw and taut. She spoke in sudden bursts, shivering like a frightened rabbit. "Erm, I… well, I appreciate w-what you did before, I didn't mean to…"

Qaxu paused to gather her composure and fix her facial expression, before carefully approaching the little Asura before her. She winced slightly upon noticing Uummi flinching at the sound of each step, but stopped when they were a couple feet apart, and gingerly, she reached out with one gloved hand to ruffle the girl's hair. Whatever ability Qaxu lacked in wordplay, she made up for in other ways, for while at first, Uummi had shrunk away from the touch, but slowly, hesitantly, she began to push back into the firm touch, rubbing against the hand like a cat. A broken, exhausted smile began to form at the corners of her mouth.

For a moment they stood silently, neither wanting to break the sudden peace they found themselves in. After gathering her strength for her reveal, Uummi looked too worn out and tired even think anymore. For her part, Qaxu simply didn't know what to say. Seconds stretched into minutes as the two stood frozen in the moment.

And then, Qaxu's mouth moved before her brain had even processed the words. "You really are just a spoiled little princess after all, aren't you?" she murmured, almost more to herself than the girl before her, "You act like a jerk and do whatever you like, no matter what trouble it might cause for those around you."

The tiny Asura beneath her gloved paw shuddered slightly at the words, weakly pushing the larger one away, "I-I'm sorry, I know… I j-just…"

"Hush now… it's all okay. You are who you are. There's not changing that. And no matter what you do, I'm not going anywhere, so dry those tears," soft and tender, the words floated forth from somewhere deep within her. She hadn't intended to say that, but…

Silently she sent thanks to someone far, far away.

"You… promise?" the hoarsely whispered reply surprised Qaxu even more than her own words.

A warm smile broke across her face, and her green eyes sparkled with the light of the sun's rays, "Yeah. Promise."

Qaxu's voice was calm and confident, guaranteeing that everything would be alright, though she barely even knew what was wrong in the first place. All she could tell was that this child needed someone to rely on, and needed them more than anyone had ever needed her before. All of the doubt and anger that had built up within her through the trials of the day melted away in an instant.

"I'm sorry I screwed everything up again!" the little one suddenly spoke up, her words poured out like water from a broken damn, "All I ever do is mess things up, and I wanted it to be different this time, so I practiced and practiced to show everyone that I could be just like a real genius but I even messed that up and I, and I…" the words turned to a mass of stumbling half-phrases, as the tears began to form once more in her eyes.

Qaxu opened her mouth to refute this latest miserable revelation, but this time managed to stop herself. Instead she slowly bent down on one knee to bring herself closer to Uummi's height and gently wrapped her in a protective hug. She moved without hesitation, eyes closed and a smile across her face as her mind drifted in and out of an oh-so-similar memory of long ago. As the girl continued to rant and complain, cry and lament, Qaxu rocked slowly back and forth as though holding a baby, softly humming a deep, throaty lullaby to calm the girl in her arms.

Far above them, the bright sun shone in a pastel blue sky, now dotted with the occasional painted cloud. Its warmth fell upon the two Asura who couldn't have cared less about the weather, so enshrined were they in the comforting embrace they shared.


End file.
